Holly Hill Police Chief Josh Detter said this week that a series of events that occurred the night of the fire put Capers-Smith at the scene of the Super 10 building minutes before it went up in flames.

He describes Capers-Smith as a career criminal since the 1990s, arrested for serious charges, including burglary and armed robbery.

Detter said Capers-Smith's vehicle was coming out of the back alley behind the Super 10 building at 8608 Old State Road on Jan. 8, when his car "swung wide" and almost hit two Holly Hill officers on the road.

He said officers turned on their blue lights and pursued him, which ended with Capers-Smith's car flipping over and he broke his back.

At that time, officers noticed clothing and trinkets in his car with price tags still on.

Detter said he personally recognized trinkets in Capers-Smith's vehicle from the business Joy’s Touch of Class, one of the stores housed in the Super 10 building.

Ironically, the Holly Hill Fire Department was en route to his flipped car when a volunteer fire department employee noticed flames from the store just after midnight, Detter said.

Capers-Smith has no connection to the owners of any of the stores, and he's never been employed any that location, Detter said.

Three businesses lost everything, including a fully-restored 1926 Model T, which was on the second floor of one of the businesses.